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Monday, 19 August 2013

Is Wenger All Of The Problem With Arsenal?

It's such simple arithmetic...

It's over 48 hours since I watched us lose our opening game of the season at home to Aston Villa. Enough time to lose all the vitriol and invectives that I might have used if I had made the attempt to analyse what exactly went wrong at the Emirates last Saturday. A game that started so brightly with Giroud scoring in the fifth from a trademark Arsenal breezing move ended with Villa thumping us 3-1.

Pundits and analysts alike have taken the game to bits to understand how it all went awry so I won't waste too much time on that. The referee on the day was blamed for some of it. Szcezney's tizzy goal-keeping got some of it and our defence line's inability to contain Agbonlahor got some but most of the blame was contained in a small square placard held up by an angry fan as the game wound down. It simply read, "SPEND SOME FUCKING MONEY!"

This was in reference to the club's complete lack of inwards activities in the transfer market. Despite getting rid of most of what had been considered dead-wood, loaning out a number of the academy and second string players, only one significant acquisition has been made which is the 20 year old French youngster, Sanogo -who came in on a free transfer. An already extremely thin squad has been ravaged by injuries so much so that bookmakers are not giving us much of a chance in the Champions League qualifying outing on Wednesday against Fenerbahçe.

We are simply by far the most ill-prepared team for the 2013/14 campaign? How on earth can this be after Gazidis boasted that £70m is available to be spent in the transfer market? What or who is responsible for the transfer market ineptitude at Arsenal Football Club? How difficult can it really be to identify players and go negotiate to get them. Every other club has done some transfer business so it really can't be as hard as Wenger makes it seem when he insists that the club will buy if the right quality is identified. That's a lot of hogwash in one sentence. This has served as an excuse for refusing to spend money on players for far too long without any meaningful definition of "quality" as defined by Wenger

The question remains, who or what is responsible for what many fans now perceive as incompetence in Arsenal's transfer dealings? The tide of public opinion swings against Arsenal's long-running and most successful manager, Arsene Wenger. But can he really be blamed for all of the problems with Arsenal's inability to successfully conduct transfer business?

The spending problem didn't start today...

I think it's rather simplistic to heap all of the blame on the manager who is an employee of the club. What about those who keep him on the job despite not winning nada in eight years? We've seen managers sacked for much less in all the top clubs. Managers like Mancini who won two trophies in three years have been let go by their clubs. How has a man who hasn't won a thing in eight years kept his job in one of Europe's biggest clubs this long?

I'll tell you why. Because he meets the targets and objectives set for him each year by his employers. Because his employers believe that given their chosen modus operandi, they have got the best man for the job. Despite the calls for his head, they are willing to renew his contract and that's possibly being negotiated as we speak

Arsene Wenger is convinced in his heart that football as a business can not survive in the long term with clubs paying what he considers obscene amounts to buy and maintain the so-called marquee elite. He believes in the concept of nurturing youngsters into star performers. Like an alchemist, he believes that ordinary metals can be turned into gold using the right formula. That right formula has eluded him for eight years and stubbornly he will keep searching for as long as he has the enabling platform to concoct that perfect formula.

That platform has been provided to him by an Arsenal board whose priority over the years has been more on financial security than on-field success. A board that has not refuted Wenger's assertions at various points over the past few seasons that 4th place is a trophy. Other than Sir Alex Ferguson, no other manager in any of the top clubs in Europe has had as much powers attributed to him as Arsene Wenger. He is reputed to be the man at Arsenal who has the final say on player wages and transfer negotiations.

Who gave this employee all this power? Is it possible that it is convenient for the board for Arsene Wenger to continue taking all the flack for implementing policies that were set by the board in the first place? Let's look at Real Madrid. Can any of it's past managers be credited with it's Galacticos approach to player acquisition. Can Ancelloti possibly have a hand in offering £120m for Christian Bale? No Siree, Bob! Each manager has gained from the Galactico policy. The club's top brass has defined its standards and the managers come in and get with the programme.

My argument is that if Wenger hasn't been meeting his employers' expectations, they would have fired his ass a long time ago. If higher targets and objectives were set for him, he would have had to give up on his mission to turn ordinary metals into gold.

I think Wenger is a victim of his own ideals and in a way you have to admire his resolute adherence to his own ideas. But the time has come for his employers to say "That's enough. It's time to give back to our fans." No one can deny that he is a top manager and with a decent squad he will work wonders. But somebody has got to stop him. No other top club in the world will give him as much leeway as he has been given at Arsenal and I'm sure he knows it too. It's time to give it up. But only his employers can make him give it up.

5 comments:

Finally some common sense. Wenger's way of thinking suits the owner and board of Arsenal that is why they havent sacked him. They cant think of bringing in a new manager because most managers want a sure-fire way to success and these days that requires spending some good money. No matter what they say about making 70m available it is a lie. If they wanted that money spent they will demand it of a man whose salary they pay and he will comply

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